The rise of social media is beginning to have an impact on television viewing, with one in seven viewers using the medium for TV recommendations. This breaks down to 12% from Facebook and 6% from Twitter.

In a survey into British TV habits commissioned by YouView from pollsters YouGov, one in seven Facebook users questioned also said they always or often use the site to talk about the programme they are watching. For Twitter the number rises to around one in six.

Predictably such behaviour is at its highest among younger age groups. The online survey may lean towards those familiar with the ways of the Web.

Some 4% of Twitter users admitted to sending Tweets while supposedly watching TV, rising to 10% among 18 to 24 year olds.

Susie Buckridge, Director of Product, YouView said, “Whether taking recommendations from social media or being influenced by family and friends, it appears the personal touch is the key to helping decide what’s worth turning on and what we should just switch off.

The use of printed TV guides has seen a fall compared to the same YouView survey in 2013. It dropped from 30% to 27%. One in 10 are now using TV-related applications on mobile devices (17% for 25-34s).

Remote record technology has also become popular with 10% of those with a TV service providing it taking advantage of this function every day. 3% of people admit they used remote record while on the toilet, 4% while in the bath, 13% while on a break at work and 17% while they are worked.

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About Julian Clover

You can talk to Julian on Twitter @julianclover, on Facebook or by email at jclover@broadbandtvnews.com. Julian has been following the media world for over 20 years with a focus on the UK and Nordic markets, HD, 3D and connected TV technologies.